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Teofimo Lopez Jr. upsets Lomachenko to claim undisputed lightweight crown
Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) held off a furious rally from pound-for-pound ranked Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs) to score an upset victory by unanimous decision on Saturday to unify all four lightweight titles inside the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. Lopez, the IBF titleholder, unified the WBA, WBO and WBC titles from Lomachenko.
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The judges scored it 116-112, 119-109 and 117-113 for Lopez, a native of Brooklyn, New York. CBS Sports also had it for Lopez, 116-112.
"All it is, it's 'The Takeover,'" Lopez said, referencing both his nickname and common catchphrase. "It's time for the new generation to come up and it's time for me to lead the way for everybody."
Although it was expected that Lopez's lone shot at victory would come through a knockout, the biggest upset on this night was that he largely outboxed the best pure boxer in the world in Lomachenko to get the victory.
Despite the gap in experience coming in, Lopez's speed and pinpoint accuracy forced the 32-year-old Lomachenko into a shell that he didn't come out of until the second half of the fight. Although Lomachenko's defense was on point throughout, the former two-time Olympic gold medalist looked rusty following a 14-month layoff and felt enough of Lopez's power early to prevent him from coming forward when the younger fighter was fresh.
"I have to thank God. I had to dig deep," Lopez said. "I'm thankful, I'm grateful and each and every day I take that in. I walk by faith for a reason and it feels good."
Lopez outlanded Lomachenko by a margin of 183 to 141, according to CompuBox. He also did well to hold off a late surge from Lomachenko as it was obvious that Lopez was visibly tiring.
"Honestly, it was just to keep pressuring him, that's all you have to do. Use the jab and never give him the opportunity to set up," Lopez said. "Every time he wanted to throw, I had something for him to break his momentum. He was coming off a 14-month layoff and I knew it was going to take him a long time to catch up."
Although a dejected Lomachenko left the ring immediately after the decision was read, he connected on 45% of his power punches overall and became the aggressor in the final five rounds of the fight. Lomachenko appeared on his way to winning the final round by getting off first with clean combinations until Lopez hurt him with a left hook and continued to pile on power shots of his own until the final bell.
"I'm a fighter, I've got to dig in deep. I can't give him that," Lopez said of the final round. "I don't know if they have him close on the scorecards or not. I love to fight and I can bang, too. I don't care. I'll take one to give one and that's what a true champion does. I'll find a way to come out and win."
Lopez became the first fighter in the four-belt era to become an undisputed champion at lightweight. With his body still growing, he wasn't sure after the fight exactly where he might go next. "Take me to 140 or I could go fight Devin Haney if they want that," Lopez said.
Elsewhere on the card, Edgar Berlanga showed why he also may be the future -- just in the super middleweight division. The 23-year-old Brooklyn native scored his 15th consecutive first-round knockout in his 15th pro fight with a dismantling of Lanell Bellows. He hasn't so much as broken a sweat in his pro debut that began just four years ago. Plus, Arnold Barboza outpointed Alex Saucedo in a brawl over 1,600 punches thrown in 10 rounds of action.
